Just wanted to tell all of you who were so encouraging that I did take my trip - Micato made adjustments, as prudent, to assure our safety in Nairobi, and the rest of the trip was wonderful. I got home yesterday (Zanzibar to Nairobi to Amsterdam to Boston - coach class) - tired but happy.
Jess

Welcome home.
Another good report, I'm sure!

Welcome home. Your accounts of things on the ground recently will be of great interest.

Karibu nyumbani!

WELCOME BACK, Jess! I hadn't seen this post when I asked you to post how it all was on Sandi's post! Sorry, I should have looked down first....

Can't WAIT to hear all about it!

Welcome home, Jess. Glad to hear that you made it safe and sound.

Hope your trip was everything you hoped it would be. Can't wait to read your report.

Shane

Zanzibar to Nairobi to Amsterdam to Boston - coach class - just a hop, skip and a jump! This was your first trip, right? The more times you go, the less horrible the flights are. I always dread them but they aren't as bad as they used to be (I'm in coach also). I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip and glad it went well.

Me too... I no longer feel pain in "last class." Anything over 10/hrs... is a breeze, but I have learned to sleep thru it!

We also had a bunch of puddlejumpers -- more than originally planned, because of some re-routing Micato did - avoiding some places - and certain drives -for safety reasons. Once we had 3 commuter-type plane rides in one day, one after another - I enjoyed these immensely but eventually the fumes kind of got to me.

I always keep a journal when I travel – this time, I was too overwhelmed with sights, sounds, feelings to even take notes! I found I was “writing my impressions in my mind” and it was burdensome, depriving me of the full experience. So I simply quit!. I took lots of pictures with my little Panny TZ 3, and left the heavy lifting to those with the gi-normous hu-mongous lenses (as all in my group are going to share photos).
More about the highlights of the trip when I decompress some. For now, a philosophical question:
If you will only see the leopard once you apply Photoshop enhancements, did you really “see” the leopard?
Jess

Jess - so glad you are home safe and sound! Can't wait to hear your impressions of the trip. I want to re-live my Micato Heart of Kenya and Tanzania trip through your posts!!

Jess-

Yes on the leopard - I've been there! In 2006 on the Stanley Wing we only saw a leopard w-a-a-y far away in a tree. Jim could see it with his higher powered binocs, but barely. Once we got home, he photoshopped his picture from his 300 lens & by the golly - I said 'ohmigosh - there's a leopard - I'm adding it to my list!' Hey works for me, anyways...

In 2007 we saw a few leopards - and close, so this means you must go back & do it again....

Jess,

If a response of "yes" means you probably won't be heading back to Africa, then the answer is definitely "no."

About the leopard - We saw one in Serengeti, but it was pretty far off. I could barely get a somewhat decent picture with my 12X zoom. We took Mom's small pocket cannon and stuck the lens up to the binoculars and looked at the back of the camera (on the screen) and "voila" great leopard and no photoshop necessary! We just used her 6x zoom and binoculars! It is by far the best of the pictures of that leopard in our group.

Whatever the answer (and I kinda think yes and no are both right, in a way), I definitely want to go back to Africa.
I did see the leopard, though not well - but one of our group got a really great shot of him (her?) which I will also get a copy of. For some reason, I absolutely could not see EITHER of the cheetahs the others saw....but I redeemed myself by spotting a serval cat and also a couple of bat-eared foxes....

Jess215:

Glad to hear you had a safe and enjoyable trip! I know what you mean about being too overwhelmed to write in a journal, obviously it is a good idea to keep some notes; Lynn sure is proof of that! I actually did make some notes but I am lucky if I can read my own handwriting or decipher what my buzzwords of the moment were supposed to bring to mind. I thought I would remember everything… but all is not lost as someone can say the most random thing and it will inspire my old brain to bring a memory to the surface, plus the snaps are a big help! I look forward to reading more about your trip.

aowens:

“We just used her 6x zoom and binoculars! It is by far the best of the pictures of that leopard in our group.”

This is by far the most innovative photography tip I have ever heard! Or read that is, it deserves a thread of it own! Hilarious!

Den

I got a picture of a leopard on my phone through the binoculars - in spite of the fact that I also got great pics of her on the "real" camera. I wanted one on my phone, too. I couldn't get it to work, but our guide was quite adept at such antics and got it for me. YEAH, Joseph.

And, I say the answer is yes...but would also have to agree with Lynn's approach to answering the question.

Shane

Denbasking - it was actually our guides tip. He suggested it, and it works beautifully! I have since suggested it to others and it works well as long as you have somewhere to steady or prop the binoculars. It is too hard to just hold both binocs and camera. I have now not only seen it used in Africa for the leopard, but also in Alaska for a grizzly bear that someone with us couldn't get a close enough picture of.

Just saw your post, Jess, and I wanted to join in to say welcome back! I'm so glad you went ahead with the trip and that Micato took good care of you. (I know what those multi-flight days feel like!)

You most certainly can count the leopard if you saw it with your own eyes, even if you didn't get a good shot. That's the one "major" critter we didn't see, so of course I'm going to have to go back to get my leopard sighting!